Posts by Coded Logic

47

The Illusion of Superiority

by Coded Logic in

after reading dozens and dozens of posts and hundreds of comments, it seems to me that a great many people on this forum think that since they figured out ttatt, they must therefore be a highly intelligent and incredibly rational individual.

let me take a moment to congratulate everyone.

its a big step to figure this out - i know.. that said, it doesn't make you a genius!

Coded Logic

"Great many" is offensive and an irrational, likely unsupported by the facts, statement. Great many means kinda sorta everyone but you.

-DJS

You are committing the formal logical fallacy of False Equivocation. “Great many” does NOT mean "everyone one but me." Rather, “great many” means a large number of people. You are trying to add things which are not there. There is nothing offensive, irrational, or unsupported about it. Which is more then I can say about your comment.

And you made definitive 'conclusions' about why the great many are responding as you describe, that they "think that since they figured out TTATT, they must therefore be a highly intelligent and incredibly rational individual." That's an unsupported, likely erroneous, definitive statement. Have you any data which supports such a definitive statement?

DJS

Awe that's cute, you're acting like you're going to teach me a lesson. Adorable! Fortunately for me, you're demonstrably wrong. People on this forum continuously call others stupid, idiot, moron, illogical, irrational, and conduct all other manner of ad hominem attacks. And people on this forum also speak at great length about how much smarter they are than all the elders and the MS who are still JWs. And when another member on this website points out a valid problem with their logic - they lash out call the other party calling them “illogical” without taking any consideration of their own position. So yes, my statement is both supported and factual.

Your presentation skills can stand some improvement.

-DJS

I am open to any suggestions you might have.

I am fairly intelligent but I have real blank spots in my mind for some forms of argument or debate.

-humbled

Everyone has mental blind spots. The human brain is not particularly good at logic. That’s why its something we have to learn. Here’s a really good video that is easy to understand and covers some of the basics. The person has a whole series of videos on debate but they’ve got the kind of voice and demeanor that instantly puts you at ease. I recomend his vdeos to everyone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69TOuqaqXI&list=UUc_xdkOBgSYLmXTn-VSQ4uA

I maintain a broad brush was used.

-jgnat

How come?

(I can’t address your concerns if you don’t qualify them)

Coded Logic, how do you know that they didn't ask "does that apply to me?", and *then* ask you?

-Onager

Because the two questions I asked in my OP were, "Do you know what logic is?" and "Have you ever studied logic?" Instead of considering these they instead asked "How do we know you're not suffering from the DK effect?"

Whether or not I'm suffering from the DK effect is Red Herring. It in no way effects the validity of the questions I posed. And, had the person considered their own position and their own understanding of logic - instead of worrying about mine - they would have known that. So no, it wasn't an "assumption" as you so crudely assert. Rather, its what's known as inductive reasoning. Here's a good site you can read up on it:

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/types_reasoning/induction.htm

59

Want to make Money $ with a Web Site?

by sarahsmile in

has anyone had success with a high traffic website or blog ?.

it might take a team of people to accomplish.. ads pay and people count, lots and lots of people.

does jehovahs-witness.net make money every time someone looks at the web site?

Coded Logic

Keep up the great work Simon we all appreciate it! And I hope you're making tons of money doing it :)

And Sarah, you're the only one being disrespectful here. Chill out.

4

Escaping the Pit

by Coded Logic in

thought i'd share a little poem i wrote after getting out.. .

grappling with the fancies.

and the shadows in my mind.

Coded Logic

Thanks :)

Hope you guys enjoyed

21

Are Jehovah's Witnesses the only religion to teach a paradise earth?

by rory-ks in

i have tried researching, but this pesky organisation always packs out the list.

you seem to have to drill down several layers before reaching christadelphians.. is it a recognised idea among other peoples/religions?.

Coded Logic

The idea of paradise pre-dates even Judaism. The Zoroastrians believed in a paradise called Garothman. The Celts believed in a paradise they called the Fortunate Isles. The Greeks believed in the Elysium Feilds. All three of which were physical places with a physical resurection. There is absolutely nothing unique to the JW teaching, its been part of most cultures at one time or another.

12

The earth is flat...

by rory-ks in

jw
friends

...and the ship is sailing over the edge.. .

such is the state of the watch tower society..

Coded Logic

The Watchtower is a corporation. And a corporation will do whatever it needs to do to survive - even/especially if that means sacraficing its principles. Even if that means sacraficing some of its existing members. The WTBTS is a huge brand name with instant brand name recognition and they will make what ever changes are neccissary to meet the needs of this newer and more educated generation. The cats out of the bag - information can no longer be controlled. Think about it, five years ago vindicating Jehovah's name was the most important thing to the Jehovah's Witnesses. Now they are perfectly okay with calling themselves JWs. The enormity (meant in both senses of the word) cannot be overstated. jw.org isn't the end of the changes being made - it's just the begining.

Who knows what will come next. But the PNR has already been passed and the changes will start happening faster and faster. I would be perfectly comfortable predicting that in the next ten years the WTBTS will change more then it has in the past fifty. And the JWs of twenty years from now will be almost completely unrecognizable. Rock concert like music preformances at the kingdom halls, dancing, food, and "Jesus loves you no matter what" will all become the norm. Religion is going out fast as the "nones" become more and more prominent and the only way to keep people in religion is to make it all about sense of community and inclusion. The WTBTS will embrace all of this because it will be what's neccissary to survive. Remember, they are - and always have been - a corporation.

4

Escaping the Pit

by Coded Logic in

thought i'd share a little poem i wrote after getting out.. .

grappling with the fancies.

and the shadows in my mind.

Coded Logic

Thought I'd share a little poem I wrote after getting out.

. . .

THE PIT

. . .

Grappling with the fancies

And the shadows in my mind

Fighting off the demons

On the pathways of the blind

. . .

Thought I saw a light

Through the darkness and the grit

Shinning from the bottom

Of the blackness of the pit

. . .

Like fools gold in the night

Deceptions of the haughty

Was this the true glimmer

Of our Governing Body?

. . .

There upon the knife edge

Where I sooner should have been

I found myself doubting

Those Seven wicked men

. . .

But knowing I would plummet

In a free fall of despair

My fingers grasped the edge

And I hung there in the air

. . .

I couldn't hold on long

As my strength began to wane

My compassion fading fast

As my mind became deragned

. . .

Then remembering my family

And the the world up above

I realized life's worth living

If I live a life in love

. . .

So I pulled myself up

Out of the blackness of that pit

And went searching for a light

Beyond the darkness where I'd lived

. . .

Finally free from the shadows

And the pathways of the blind

Theres a whole new world

To be explored by my mind

24

Heavy metal

by Godsendconspirator in

i have always loved heavy metal music (thrash metal to be more specific).

since heavy metal is usually associated with satan and occult themes many christians and jws in particular stray away from it.

in my teenagehood i was listened to it obsessively until i started studying and got baptized at age 18 and i started listening to other genres.

Coded Logic

Funny story, when one of the MS in my kingdom hall became an elder he gave me his old Metallic CDs because he "couldn't keep them anymore and be an elder" (not sure how he rationalized giving them to a young brother like me instead of destroying them but I was happy to have them). On his computers CD drive (yes this was way back when computers still had those) he opended the tray to put the Metallica CD in so he could show me some of his favorite songs. But the Watchtower Library was already in the tray so he had to take it out before put the songs in. When he retracted the tray back into the computer the computer crashed. To which he joked, "The computer must of had a heart attack after going from the WTL to Metallica."

Looking back, it's quite facinating to me how a person who can hold two conflicting beliefs in their head simultaneously. There's nothing quite like the Compartmentalized Logic exercised by JWs.

47

The Illusion of Superiority

by Coded Logic in

after reading dozens and dozens of posts and hundreds of comments, it seems to me that a great many people on this forum think that since they figured out ttatt, they must therefore be a highly intelligent and incredibly rational individual.

let me take a moment to congratulate everyone.

its a big step to figure this out - i know.. that said, it doesn't make you a genius!

Coded Logic

I wonder what the motive of the OP is? Was it to counsel others, or was it spark a debate, or was it to prove a point, or was it just to raise awareness?

It was mostly out of fustration after witnessing several individuals accuse other people of being "illogical" when, in fact, it was the accusers in the first place who were using fallacious arguements. It's a fundamental problem, the cognitive tools neccissary to form complex logical arguements are the same tools neccissary to understand complex logical arguements. Many of these folks behavior reminded me of the Watchtower calling out other religions for their false prophecies while being completely oblivious to their own false prophecies. It's just a complete inability to exercise any sort of introspection that causes these double standards.

I had also hoped to raise the collective awareness that perhaps we should be a little more considerate (and suspect) of our own cognitive bias. And, perhaps even spark a discussion about Meta Cognition. But perhaps such a conversation would be better suited for another time.

16

Rebranding of the Watchtower to JW.org - how long in the works?

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

the transformation from watchtower to jw.org is nothing short of remarkable.. animated cartoons (caleb and sophia), the new jw.org slogan, international convention websites (featuring previously unthinkable entertainment in the kingdom hall) - how long do you think this has been in the works for?.

i feel very uneasy about what is happening - it's so sudden, seems like it all happened within the space of a year.. i sense some intelligence about all this, as if it has been some carefully orchestated performance - to dazzle and distract.. the kingdom ministry of 1999 was totally against the internet and now they seem to embrace it along with tablets and smartphones.. why the sudden change?

do you think it is anything to do with social media?.

Coded Logic

I suppose the real question is, will they be able to keep the beast on a leash? The Kingdom Hall meetings have long needed some serrious pick up to keep the witnesses attention. If they were smart, they would start doing special schools for the young ones during the meetings and "deeper" studies for the witnesses who have been in for a long time and have heard it all before.

Unfortunetly, from what I've read of their liturature of late - it seems like they have dumbed it down even more than before I left (which I hadn't even thought possible). But who knows, with all these changes maybe the tail will start wagging the dog.

23

HELP needed for a friend, please. Anyone?..

by defender of truth in

a friend of mine (who has recently started reading jwn) is having trouble eating and sleeping because, even after having recently woken up to ttatt.. they are still concerned about 'demons, everlasting destruction, and jehovahs disapproval'.. i've tried to encourage them.

i'm sure you all understand that these things can take time, the transition period is often painful, to some extent.

i'm still struggling with anger and depression myself.. i'll be away from jwn, off the internet, and thus out of contact with them for a while (don't ask why)... so please don't expect me to reply to or even look at what you post, .

Coded Logic

Wow, so much information on this post already! Well, if your friend is looking for something on the lighter side that is super easy to digest here is a short vidoe by nonstamp collector which sums up some contradictions in the bible in a super funny way!

I recomend everyone check it out! Its a real hoot!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB3g6mXLEKk